Collective crushing on Daniel Radcliffe

I interviewed Daniel Radcliffe – again – at the Toronto premiere of The F Word (What If in the USA) on Monday. Yesterday I interviewed him – again – on The Social alongside my colleagues Melissa Grelo, Cynthia Loyst, and Jess Allen. That’s probably about a dozen times now that I’ve interviewed him over the last 9 years. Basically he and I have a relationship that’s almost a decade-long, at least in my mind.

And he’s been lovely every single time. Always kind, always generous, always on game, always willing to play, never impatient, never not appreciative…

At times I felt like I was alone in my Daniel Radcliffe appreciation. But it all changed yesterday because almost everyone I work with totally understood it as soon as they met him. Here’s how he impressed us:

He left his people in the green room. You know, celebrities, they can’t be alone. They always have to have protection in the form of a publicist, a manager, a bodyguard, a makeup artist, etc. But when he came backstage to The Social, he came alone. That’s a message, it’s something he’s set up in advance with his team: I’m OK on my own; I don’t want people to think I can’t be alone, that I’m not approachable, that I’m above them. In my experience, I’ve not seen anyone else do this.

And then he proceeded to introduce himself to every person backstage. They don’t normally do this either. But he took the time to meet the production assistants, the coordinators, the other guests, our producers…everyone. When he was on set, he made a point to thank our floor director Kwame, and as many other crew members he could reach on time. It was delightful. HE is delightful. By the end of it, we were all in love with him. And every girl – gay and straight – there was attracted to him too.

All of us, no matter our different styles, preferences, whatever, we were so taken by Daniel Radcliffe that, yes, we 100% would. No hesitation. We all had a crush.

Kathleen, the producer on The Social who is assigned to talent, who’s seen them all, from big bands to big movie stars, definitely declared that he was now her favourite, her all-time favourite. And she was super squealy about it too, buzzing from a Hogwarts high that still hasn’t quite left her yet, 24 hours later.

He’s great. And not just for a celebrity. Even by civilian standards, Daniel Radcliffe is a great person. Special? I don’t use that word a lot to describe anyone. But him? Yes. He is indeed special.